LINK BELOW

We now return to Ashley and Drake, this time with warm smiles on their faces.

"Well, despite Junko having made a hostile takeover, it seems that it did nothing to deter the fighters from giving us a great round!" Drake grinned.

"Same with Xero and Maurice. At least even Xero knows that he couldn't let Junko dominate the ring!" Ashley nodded. "Fortunately, he figured out a loophole to save the fighters from executing somebody."

"Yeah, Junko said that after fifteen fighters were eliminated, someone has to be executed." Drake added before smirking. "Buttttttt… Remember why Wally and Catherine said that Junko has a tendency to leave subtle, but still prominent holes in her plans?"

"Indeed. Because of the Big Guy Blocker, no one got eliminated after fifteen fighters were thrown out of the ring." Ashley explained. "Thus the section has ended and there is no reason to eliminate anyone else."

Drake let out a hearty laugh. "It was a simple oversight, but it was more than enough to ruin Monokuma's plans for the section!"

Ashley frowned. "I just hope that Xero and Maurice will continue to keep this up…"

"Don't worry, despite we like ragging on Xero for being unprofessional, even HE knows when to be serious and Junko Enoshimar is one broad you do NOT want to mess with." Drake nodded.

"Well, I'm still not a fond of him, but yes, it wouldn't hurt me to put my trust in him. For now." Ashley nodded. He then brightened up. "But now things are looking more hopeful for now, we could go into the results with sunny dispositions!"

"Yeah, now remember, the Big Guy Blocker is in effect so everyone we will talk about this section will still be in the ring." Drake reminded. "So let's get to it!"

VENTUS

NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS

ENTERED IN: Section 5; Number 114

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1

"Well, well, well. This is a surprise. Sure, Ventus may have gotten a slow start, but to say that it was a grand slow start is an understatement." Drake mused, crossing his arms.

"Indeed. His elimination was on Pikachu from Super Smash Bros. Aka THE winner of the Battle of the Luminaries!" Ashley agreed.

"Pikachu may be faster than Ventus AND having an element that complimented said speed, but Ventus was no slowpoke himself and had a similar fast element." Drake nodded.

"And Ven wisely used it to his advantage, to outsmart Pikachu long enough to eliminate him." Ashley smiled.

AKANE OWARI

NODE: SUPER DANGANRONPA 2

ENTERED IN: Section 2; Number 39

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 5

"Well, Akane may show signs of her fatigue setting in, but Akane would be damned if she let that OR despair get her down!" Drake grinned.

"Indeed. She showed Kukri from King of Fighters XIV that the hard way." Ashley agreed. He then paused. "Well, technically…?"

Drake rolled his eyes. "What Ashley means is that Akane was fighting someone else and said opponent had accidentally thrown her in Kukri while HE was fighting someone else."

Ashley shook his head in hopelessness. "Well, I assume that having less fighters being eliminated would limit the amount of… Careless elimination. I suppose that is wishful thinking on my part…"

KISSHU IKISATASHI

NODE: TOKYO MEW MEW

ENTERED IN: Section 4; Number 94

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2

"Heh, for someone who decided to try out a brand-new fighting style, Kisshu is doing well." Ashley noted. "Even though his elimination, this time around, was more of a team effort."

"Yeah, Ray from Sonic the Hedgehog had the misfortune and was knocked into the battle between Kisshu and Luna Loud." Drake nodded. He then grinned. "So THEY decided to do their own Limit Break."

Ashley paused. "...Is seeing a Limit Break every round going to be one of those running themes?"

"Shut up. If it is awesome, who cares?" Drake spat.

Ashley just rolled his eyes.

BUTTERCUP

NODE: POWERPUFF GIRLS

ENTERED IN: Section Five; Number 101

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1

"Okay, show of hands? Who is surprised that a Powerpuff Girl did just as well as her leader thus far?" Drake challenged.

"Indeed, not only did she get an elimination, but she avenged her sister, Blossom by eliminating Sticks from Sonic the Hedgehog. Someone who was already proving to be a tough foe." Ashley agreed.

"Not only that, but not only did she use a Final Smash to get rid of Sticks, but also stole her Smash Ball." Drake smirked.

"From Luigi to Agent 9 to Sticks to now Buttercup…" Ashley muttered. "I don't think that particular Smash Ball is EVER going to be used…"

"Sounds like a regular game of Super Smash Bros to me." Drake shrugged.

Ashley shook his head. "I know that I shouldn't say this and I am not saying that these four have to admit it, but a part of them should be grateful to Junko right now."

"Yeah, without that Big Guy Blocker, they would be eliminated right now." Drake nodded. He then paused. "Wait… Doesn't that mean they SHOULD thank Junko directly because she more or less gave them hope?"

Ashley was about to answer, but looked absolutely stunned. "That's… Actually a good point."

"Heh! Now I'M the one spotting plot holes with Junko's logic!" Drake grinned.

Ashley rolled his eyes, but this time with an amused smile.

BIANCA

NODE: SPYRO THE DRAGON

ENTERED IN: Section Five; Number 104

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1

"Just like her boyfriend, Hunter, she has managed to get an elimination!" Drake grinned.

"And just like her boyfriend, it was in a less than graceful way." Ashley muttered, shaking his head. "Her spell, which was meant for a different opponent, had flown into another fight by mistake and sent Parasoul from Skullgirls out of the ring."

Drake chuckled nervously. "Well, at least it shows that she got a lot of power in her magic despite being a novice."

"Admittedly, while not looking impressive, turning dark magic into bunnies is still an impressive feat." Ashley noted with a shrug. "Especially when said dark magic is Raven's."

EIJI SHINJO

NODE: BATTLE ARENA TOSHINDEN

ENTERED IN: Section Five; Number 106

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1

"Well, will you look at that? A representative of Battle Arena Toshinden has actually managed to get an elimination." Drake smiled.

"Indeed. And it was the main character as well. Someone who YOU said had a curse on them." Ashley smirked, crossing his arms.

"Hey, I didn't say it happened ALL of the time." Drake spat. "But yeah, this is still a good showing. At first, it seems that he and Chrom from Super Smash Bros are evenly-matched, save for Eiji's fiery kicks."

"It wasn't enough for Eiji to win out, but more than enough to take Chrom by surprise!" Ashley smiled. He then paused. "Do you think he will get another elimination?"

"I don't know. It is rare." Drake shrugged. "Then again, I DID say it was rare for main characters from lesser-known franchises to get an elimination so here we are sooo…"

MURRAY

NODE: SLY COOPER

ENTERED IN: Section Five; Number 116

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I am personally not surprised that the Murray got an elimination!" Drake smirked.

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "But you ARE surprised by HOW he got said elimination."

Drake winced before growling. "Oi! Considering how his opponent went out, then it was a lose-lose situation on his end and you know it!"

Ashley just shook his head. "Okay, for context, after Akane accidentally eliminated Kukri, their respective first opponents, Murray and Shulk decided to face each other. Then, Murray was about to do his signature move, the Thunder Flop."

"However, Shulk had a vision and thought quickly." Drake said before wincing. "Or… Not thinking at all."

"In his attempts to stop Murray from doing his move, he acted too hastily and ended up diving out of his ring by accident." Ashley frowned. He then paused. "Didn't we had an elimination like that?"

"Yeah, Fox McCloud's "elimination" of Wreck-it Ralph. Though considering Ralph did that on purpose, it was more of a story elimination." Drake shrugged.

GOOFY

NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS

ENTERED IN: Section 2; Number 50

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 7

"Well, even without the Big Guy Blocker, Goofy is unable to stay on top of the ranks." Drake lamented.

"On the other hand, he is proven that while he is a goof, he does NOT goof around darkness." Ashley pointed out. "He has not only acted seriously against his nodal companion, Ansem, but also deployed a surprisingly brilliant tactic."

"To be fair, it is not THAT surprising considering that we are talking about Kingdom Hearts Goofy here who while still has his airheaded moments, has proven that he is the smartest out of the trio at times." Drake reminded.

"Oh, very true. I guess seeing this tournament has less stakes… He could afford to not act serious most of the time." Ashley shrugged.

RAVEN

NODE: TEEN TITANS

ENTERED IN: Section 4; Number 81

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2

"Proving that even if Go, Raven is a TRUE Teen Titan through and through!" Drake grinned.

"I must admit that I was worried for her when she was facing Marie from Skullgirls, but she has demonstrated that when pushed, her level could be Final Boss power as well." Ashley nodded.

"Definitely one you are glad they are a hero and not a villain." Drake agreed.

KASUMI TODOH

NODE: ART OF FIGHTING 3

ENTERED IN: Section 4; Number 93

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 3

"Well, I think we already talked about this in the last section, but it seems that people nowadays are more familiar with its spin-offs than the original fate." Drake explained with a frown. "A tragic case, it seems to be the case."

"Yes… Kasumi has eliminated Haohmaru from Samurai Shodown thus ending the trio of Ultimate Video Rumble winners." Ashley noted. "Also, with Pikachu, it seems that people seem to prefer the Megamix Tournament winners."

"Agreed." Drake nodded. "We will talk about Megamix Tournament's second half of the winner's circle later, but yeah, Kasumi is doing quite well."

VECTOR THE CROCODILE

NODE: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

ENTERED IN: Section 5; Number 107

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2

"Proving that he is brains AND brawn is the leader of the Chaotix Detective Agency himself!" Drake grinned.

"At first, he had trouble against Meitenkun from King of Fighters XIV due to him being him being such an… Unorthodox fighter." Ashley winced. "But Vector took advantage of his… Obvious reasons and got him out of the ring."

"Yeah, it helps not to be idle at things like these." Drake said before laughing heartily.

Ashley just rolled his eyes. "Anyway, this is the part where we explain that the following people would have gotten two eliminations if it wasn't for that Big Guy Blocker."

"And all four of them are girls. Heh. Now that I think about it, most of the fighters that survived are women." Drake noted. "Girl power!"

LUNA LOUD

NODE: THE LOUD HOUSE

ENTERED IN: Section 5; Number 108

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1

"Heh. Even if it was from a subpar fighting game mobile app, it seems it was more than enough to give Luna enough experience to fight here." Ashley said.

"Indeed, not only did she take part of a Limit Break with Kisshu, but she won a Handicap fight!" Drake grinned. Said grin vanished. "And by that, Luna's eyes are blinded while her opponent, Dhalsim can't use his stretchy limbs."

"Yes, as you could expect, there are no rewards on the wheel this time around. Just punishments." Ashley said, shaking his head.

"But despite this, Luna stayed strong and eliminated Dhalsim getting her first elimination!" Drake grinned.

SHEGO

NODE: KIM POSSIBLE

ENTERED IN: Section 5; Number 117

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1

"And from one Mystery Fighter to another!" Drake smiled. "Shego has proven to be as deadly as in the show!"

"Especially when her opponent reminds her too much of Kim Possible." Ashley shuddered. "I heard that she was giving Batgirl from DC Comics the stink eye ever since they entered the Ready Room."

Drake blinked twice. "...Wait, how did Batgirl know that Shego was giving her the evil eye? The Mystery Fighters are supposed to be covered in robes, hiding their identity!"

Ashley paused. "...That is how they do it?"

"They should. Or that is how that story about Rainbow Dash depicts it. And Orange-Ratchet was behind said story sooo…" Drake shrugged.

ZELDA

NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/LEGEND OF ZELDA

ENTERED IN: Section 5; Number 111

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1

"And in second place of the placements is the magical princess herself, Zelda!" Ashley beamed. His face then fell. "Unfortunately… We never got that much of said magic."

"For context, Zelda has gotten unlucky at the wheel and now her magic restrained via an electric just like what happened with Kagome." Drake warned.

"But while you would think it was a huge handicap for her, she is FAR from a pushover!" Ashley said, immediately brightening up. "While not much of a Kick Chick, she still put them to good use and booted Royal Highness from Tokyo Mew Mew out of the ring!"

"Ooh, I didn't know that you go on TvTropes!" Drake smirked.

"Oh, I skim a few times." Ashley chuckled.

SAKURA KASUGANO

NODE: STREET FIGHTER V

ENTERED IN: Section 4; Number 96

OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 3

"And in a pleasant surprise, the winner of the second Battle of the Luminaries 2 has gotten the top of the ranks, not once, but TWICE!" Drake grinned.

"It is too bad that the Big Guy Blocker was in effect, so she didn't get back-to-back eliminations." Ashley lamented. "Regardless, compared to how the other Street Fighters fared thus far, it is still an impressive feat."

"She may be all smiles while fighting, but this girl does not hold back for ANYONE. Not even her nodal companions." Drake nodded. "Zeku learned that the hard way."

"Which means she has the choice at the letters, but just like LAST time, all of them are the same envelope." Ashley frowned. "Poor girl doesn't get a chance."

"To be fair, the envelopes affect everyone and not just her." Drake noted. "Hell, one could argue that Dedede's choice HURT him more than helped."

"Also true…" Ashley mused. He then brightened up. "Anyway, that is everyone. We shall say goodbye to Pikachu, Parasoul, Sticks and Haohmaru."

"And welcome Buttercup, Bianca, Eiji, Vector, Luna, Zelda, Ventus, Murray and Chrom." Drake grinned. "Now let's go into the rankings!"

CURRENT MVPS

STREET FIGHTER V: Sakura Kasugano - 3 (Still in the ring)

KING OF FIGHTERS XIV: Geese Howard - 2 (Eliminated)

SUPER SMASH BROS: Pikachu - 4 (Eliminated)

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: Big the Cat - 4 (Eliminated)

SPYRO THE DRAGON: Agent 9 - 5 (Eliminated)

SLY COOPER: Dimitri - 1 (Eliminated)/Murray - 1 (Still in the ring)

KINGDOM HEARTS: Goofy - 7 (Still in the ring)

PLAYSTATION ALL-STARS BATTLE ROYALE: Toro Inoue - 1 (Eliminated)

MEGAMAN: Napalm Man - 1 (Eliminated)

DC COMICS: Clayface - 2 (Eliminated)/Raven - 2 (Still in the ring)

TOKYO MEW MEW: Kisshu Ikasatashi - 2 (Still in the ring)

SKULLGIRLS: Parasoul - 2 (Eliminated)

BATTLE ARENA TOSHINDEN: Eiji Shinjo - 1 (Still in the ring)

CARTOON NETWORK: PUNCH TIME EXPLOSION: Blossom - 2 (Eliminated)

MYSTERY FIGHTERS: Akane Owari - 5 (Still in the ring)

"Well, Battle Arena Toshinden is finally on the board." Drake smiled.

"And we also now have some clear leaders in Street Fighter V and Mystery Fighters with Sakura and Akane." Ashley noted.

"Do you think somebody will top them?" Drake asked.

"I don't know. I actually heard that Street Fighter surprisingly didn't do that well in comparison to other nodes." Ashley mused. "As for Mystery Fighters… They are Mystery Fighters."

"True. Remember when we thought that nobody will top Raven's record. Cue Dot Warner." Drake reminded.

"Well, I must admit that I am looking forward to the next section more than I thought I would!" Ashley smiled.

"Yeah, so stay hopeful and stay tuned!" Drake smirked.

LINK TO SECTION RESULTS: archiveofourown / works / 25531129 / chapters / 66764989